April 17, 2017
Dear <first name>,
These are strange days for the abolition movement in
Virginia. The Commonwealth executed Ricky Gray on January 18th,
and plans to kill Ivan Teleguz on April 25th.
These are cases that date back a decade or more. Yet no
Virginia jury has sentenced anyone to death in over 5% years.
Bipartisan support for limiting capital punishment grows
while we continue to execute men sentenced to death years ago.
In this past session of the Virginia General Assembly, a
bad bill that would have expanded the number of death penalty
eligible crimes died a quiet death in the Senate with
substantial bipartisan opposition.
VADP and its allies worked diligently on a bill to prohibit
the execution of people with severe mental illness (SMI). Op-
eds supporting this legislation were published in the Richmond
Times-Dispatch, the Virginian Pilot, and the conservative
Jefferson Policy Journal.
Two Republican members of the House Criminal Law
Subcommittee joined all Democrats in favor of the bill. While
we fell one vote short of moving the bill to the full Courts of
Justice Committee, we did gain the support of the Republican
Committee Chairman. This was a major step forward!
It often takes 3-5 years for new legislation such as the
SMI bill to build enough support to be passed into law. We feel
that 2018 could be the year when we pass the bill in the House
of Delegates and have a serious debate in the Senate.
While there are many challenges ahead to ending capital
punishment in Virginia, I am confident that, with your help, we
will continue making progress to abolish the death penalty in
Virginia. Here’s why ...
A group of Catholic nuns recently provided a $25,000 grant
to VADP for our grassroots education efforts. These funds have
made it possible for VADP to hire a field worker to build
support for reducing and eliminating capital punishment in key
legislative districts across the Commonwealth.
This grant can only get us started. We need matching funds
from supporters like you in order to pay the full salary of this
field worker, our employer taxes, and the travel expenses needed
to build grassroots support for the SMI bill and for death
penalty abolition.
We know that there are many legislators who struggle with
the death penalty. Torn by conscience, they support capital
punishment bills only after intense pressure from colleagues.
This new VADP field worker, who should start work in May,
will build political support in districts where Delegates and
Senators struggle with the death penalty and provide the
grassroots “political cover” they need back home to vote
according to their conscience.
I ask you to return a generous VADP contribution using the
form and envelope provided. Only with your support can we
provide this full-time grassroots field worker with the
resources needed to succeed.
That’s why I urge you to renew -- and even increase --
your financial support today.
To abolish the death penalty in Virginia, we need your
generous tax-deductible gift returned in the envelope provided
as soon as you can. (You can also give with your credit or
debit card at our secure web site: www.vadp.org “Donate”. )
With urgent thanks,
Michael Stone
Executive Director
PLS. 22?
